Crime watch

Car-theft suspect is shot by deputy

EL CAJON – A sheriff's deputy shot and wounded a suspect in an auto theft during a scuffle after a high-speed chase and hours-long SWAT standoff early yesterday, authorities said.

The chase started after an El Cajon police officer saw a stolen Toyota Camry being driven near Magnolia Avenue and Interstate 8 about 2 a.m. The driver sped onto state Route 67 toward Lakeside, where deputies joined the pursuit.

The vehicle pursuit ended when the driver and a female passenger ditched the car near an apartment complex at Wisconsin Avenue and Chambers Street, El Cajon police Lt. Fred Morrison said. The woman surrendered, but the man fought with a deputy, who then shot him.

The wounded man, identified as Santana Deleal, 21, of El Cajon, kicked open a door to an apartment and holed up inside until a SWAT team used tear gas to force him from the residence about 6 a.m., Morrison said.

The tenant, who was home at the time, ran from the apartment as the man entered.

Deleal's injuries were not considered life-threatening, Morrison said.